The Worst Advice
by whackybiscuit
Summary: Due to a failed experiment by Mayuri, the minds of Unohana, Byakuya, Kenpachi and Toshiro are all displaced inside Ichigo's inner world. Now, as the substitue is about to confess his feelings to Orihime, he has to contend to dealing with the "helpful" voices in his head! Ichigo X Orihime!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

 _The Worst Advice_

 _Chapter One_

 _ **After the Fullbringer Arc…**_

 **Soul Society**

Sitting at a table with several of the lieutenants of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, Ichigo Kurosaki sipped his tea while chatting with them, happy at last.

Looking up from her tea, Ichigo's friend Rukia Kuchiki cocked her head. "So Ichigo, what brings you here to the Soul Society?" she asked. Beside her sat Renji, whom was busy drinking alcohol in a drinking contest with Ikkaku. "Are you having trouble in the World of the Living?" It'd thrown both her and Renji off when Ichigo showed up out of the blue and asked to speak with them.

Ichigo shook his head. "No, nothing like that. Everything's fine and back to normal now that I got my powers back." Sitting back in his chair, Ichigo looked down at his cup of tea while trying to piece his thoughts together.

"What's the matter? You don't look like you're happy," Renji pointed out.

Sighing, Ichigo took another swig of tea. "I just need some advice, that's all."

Rukia raised an eyebrow. She had a feeling about what got Ichigo so twisted into a knot. "Is it Orihime?" she asked.

"Yeah," Ichigo reluctantly nodded. "I…I know how she feels about me," he confessed, making the two lieutenants look at each other perplexed. They'd assumed that Ichigo was oblivious to Orihime's crush on him. Ichigo saw the look on their faces and gave his trademark scowl. "Rukia, Renji, I'm not an idiot!"

Renji threw up his hands in defense. "Sorry, Ichigo. It's just…we were kinda wondering, that's all. It was so obvious and yet you never brought it up."

"Renji's right. But that's water under the bridge. So what's the problem?" Rukia asked. "Do you…not feel the same way about her?" she asked. A part of her was afraid that Ichigo was going to reject Orihime's feelings and she knew that it would devastate the girl.

But thankfully Ichigo shook his head. "I…I want to tell Orihime how I feel about her but…I don't know how."

Renji merely cocked his head to the side. "What's stopping her from just telling her?" he pointed out.

"That's just it! Every time I try to get her alone, something comes along to ruin my chance!"

"I see…" Rukia pondered on what to do.

"Sounds like quite the dilemma."

The three friends turned to see Captain Unohana walk up to them, a friendly smile on her face.

"Oh, hello Captain Unohana," Rukia greeted. "What brings you here?"

"I came to fetch you and Lieutenant Abarai," the graceful woman explained. She nodded over to Isane, who was sitting at another table. "Captain Kurotsuchi has requested the presences of most of the captains and lieutenants."

"What's Mayuri want you guys for?" Ichigo asked puzzled.

"He claims to have finished an experiment and wants us all present to watch." She turned to Ichigo. "You may come as well, Ichigo. Perhaps afterwards I can give you some advice about your romantic predicament."

The trio looked at each other and shrugged. "Alright then. I'll come." The group, along with Ikkaku and Isane, headed for Mayuri's lab.

 _ **Sometime later…**_

 **Squad 12; Mayuri's Lab**

"Good. You're all here," Mayuri noted as the group stood in front of him. In addition to Ichigo, Rukia and Renji, most of the captains and lieutenants were assembled in the large laboratory, minus the Head-Captain, Soi-Fon, Kensei and Rose, all of whom were too busy to show up to whatever it was that Mayuri had planned.

Everyone noted the huge orb in the middle of the room, a large white glow coming from its center. Kyoraku let out a whistle. "Wow, Captain Kurotsuchi, that's quite the impressive contraption. I'd no idea you were into fortunetelling."

Mayuri merely rolled his eyes. "Very funny…" he muttered before looking over at Nemu, who was busy manning a control console. "I'll have you know that I've made a breakthrough in the development of the zanpakuto, thank you very much!"

That got everyone's attention. Stepping forward, Captain Kuchiki looked at his fellow captain with skepticism. "What is this device, Captain Kurotsuchi? You would not have gathered us all here if you weren't convinced of its importance."

"More like convinced of his ego…" Shinji snickered, earning an angry glare from the scientist.

"Hmph!" went Mayuri. "As you all know, I have been studying the intricacies of the zanpakuto. To that end, I've constructed this device as an experiment to push the limits of a zanpakuto."

"How?"

"You are all aware that within each of us is an Inner World. Even a lowly Substitute like Ichigo Kurosaki has one."

"Bite me…" Ichigo scowled in annoyance.

"And through that Inner World, we have all developed a zanpakuto," Mayuri continued while ignoring Ichigo's jab. "However, each of us, in a manner of speaking, is isolated. Every Soul Reaper is disconnected from one another." He put a hand over the orb. "With this device, I seek to bridge the divide between two Soul Reapers."

"Captain Kurotsuchi," interjected Captain Komamura. "What exactly do you mean by bridging the divide?"

"With this device, I shall take two Soul Reapers and connect their inner worlds. If my hypothesis is correct, the bridging of the two souls shall not only allow them both to share strengths, but to merge their zanpakutos together!" he announced triumphantly.

"What?!" the whole group gasped, unable to believe their ears.

"So then," Mayuri's lips formed an evil smile. "Any volunteers?"

"You really expect us to let you hook us up to that thing?" Shinji told Mayuri. "I'll pass."

Mayuri scowled when everyone nodded in agreement. They all admitted that while the idea did seem exciting, volunteering to become one of Mayuri's lab rats was not a well-advised plan. Sighing, Mayuri shrugged. "Oh well. Plan B." He looked over at Nemu and nodded. His daughter nodded in return and hit a button. Everyone looked around in shock when the doors to the lab all slammed shut. "If nobody will volunteer, I suppose I'll simply have to do it the hard way."

Kenpachi merely sneered at Mayuri. "You really think a few doors are going to keep me from walking out of here?" he asked, reaching for his zanpakuto. "You know, I've always been waiting for an excuse to cut you."

Before the bloodbath could begin, Captain Unohana stood forward. "I will volunteer," she said, a calm look on her face.

Isane gasped in shock, the mere idea of Unohana submitting herself to one of Mayuri's experiments terrified her. "But…Captain!"

Mayuri cocked his head. "That's twice now you've volunteered for my experiments. I really do believe you've lost your mind, Captain Unohana."

The woman merely smiled gently as she walked over to the man. "Well if nobody steps forward, you won't let us leave. And we can't have Captain Zaraki kill you and deprive us of that brain of yours. And besides…" her eyes narrowed, just like they did on the desert sands of Hueco Mundo many months ago. "To have your experiment fail in front of so many people. You'd die of shame."

Mayuri's smile merely grew wider. "You really do know how to push my buttons."

"May I presume you will be the other person in this experiment?" Unohana inquired.

"I'm afraid not. I must stand by and observe the process." He turned to the group. "Anyone else?"

"I'll go."

Both Renji and Rukia both looked on in horror as Byakuya stepped forward. "But Captain!" Renji insisted.

"There are risks, Renji. This is true," the stoic man said as he walked over to the pair by the orb. "But Captain Kurotsuchi does bring up a point. Our enemies have taken advantage of us time and again due to our lack of unity. Perhaps this might amend that weakness. And if I were to share my inner world with someone, it should be with someone I respect."

Unohana couldn't help but blush. "Why, Captain Kuchiki. That is quite flattering."

"Yes, yes, we're all touched," Mayuri muttered, waving his hand dismissively. "Alright then. On to business." He tapped the orb with his knuckle. "Put your hands on the orb. Nemu and I will feed power into the device and we'll see what happens."

Everyone watched with bated breath as the two captains put their hands on the orb. Mayuri walked over to Nemu and touched a button on the console. As he pushed, power flowed through cables and into the bottom of the orb. The orb pulsed in response. Both of the captains gasped as they felt a hum of energy shoot through them. Byakuya's spirit energy began to flare a bright white, Unohana's green. The orb began to pull their energy into it, turning light green as the colors blended.

"Power normal. The process should be almost…" Mayuri's eyes suddenly widened as he saw something flash across the screen. "What?" He watched as the power input became alarmingly high. "Why is the power increasing?!"

As more energy was pumped into the orb, both Unohana and Byakuya started to cry out in pain, alarming everyone in the room.

"Shut it off!" Komamura shouted at Mayuri. "You're hurting them!"

Mayuri slammed the emergency stop button but it didn't stop. The orb was sucking the power out of the lab's power reserves on its own, its bright light growing brighter.

"Captain!" both Isane and Renji shouted when they saw the looks of pain on their captains' faces.

"BROTHER!" Rukia screamed. She turned to the other captains. "Help them!"

Not being need to be told twice, Kenpachi and Captain Hitsugaya leapt forward while the others captains rushed over to the cables. Kenpachi grabbed Unohana while Toshiro tugged on Byakuya's arm, both trying hardest to free the pair. However, no sooner did they touched the two did the orb ensnare them as well. Toshiro's white and Kenpachi's yellow was added to the orb.

"Captain!" both Rangiku and Ikkaku shouted.

"Kenny no!" yelled Yachiru.

Kensei and Komamura tried to pull out the cables but they remained attached to the synthesis orb. Kyoraku and Ukitake both attempted to sever the cables but whatever Mayuri used to create them was resistant to zanpakutos. "Shut it off, Mayuri!" Ukitake shouted.

"I can't!" Mayuri shrieked, realizing that his experiment was going into overload. He looked up and saw the four ensnared captains becoming worn out, the orb literally sucking them dry. "It's going to overload!"

Ichigo drew Zangetsu. He didn't know if this would help but he knew that if he didn't do something then Unohana, Kenpachi, Toshiro and Byakuya would die. "Move!" he told the captains as he held up his Zangetsu.

Mayuri saw what Ichigo was about to do. "Wait, you fool! Don't hit it with more spirit energy or-"

"Getsuga Tensho!" Ichigo shouted as he swung his arms, launching his signature attack. Everyone watched as it hit the orb. However, they were stunned as the orb sucked up Ichigo's energy. Lightning sparked across its surface, hitting maximum overload. The orb pulsed madly, its bright light blinding everyone. Sucking out the last of the spirit energy from its victims, the orb coalesced their collective energies, adding Ichigo's to the mix, and turned its attention to its attacker.

"Ichigo! Look out!" Rukia shouted as energy focused to the spot that was facing Ichigo. But in the blink of an eye a bolt of energy shot out of the orb and hit Ichigo square in the chest. Ichigo's eyes rolled back as a flood of images hit him, as if he was showed a film reel of the four captains' lives on fast forward. As the four captains slumped to the ground, the orb lost its light and powered down.

While the lieutenants rushed to their respective captains, Ukitake and Kyoraku rushed over to Ichigo, finding him as unconscious as the others. "Ichigo? Ichigo! Wake up!" Ukitake shook him but got no response.

Shinji wiped the sweat from his brow, looking over the mess Mayuri had made and asking what they were all thinking.

"What the fuck just happened?"

To be continued


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

 _Chapter Two_

 _Ichigo was falling._

 _He screamed as he fell down into the abyss. His head felt like it was being filled to its breaking point. All around him images of the four captains swirled around him, showing him the lives of Zaraki, Unohana, Toshiro and Byakuya. His head felt like it was about to burst. "MAKE IT STOP!" he yelled, thrashing, trying to escape the memories. Every couple of seconds his eyes would be shown a scene from one of the captains' lives, weaving in and out from one captain's memory to the next._

 _Just when Ichigo couldn't take anymore, he finally hit the bottom of the abyss._

 _The pain in his head faded and he blinked. Sitting up, he looked around. "Rukia? Renji?" He called out, trying to remember what happened. He recalled Mayuri's experiment, Byakuya and Unohana being drained of their spirit energy and his attempt to stop it, getting zapped by the orb._

" _Where am I?" he asked out loud._

 _He saw that he was no longer in Mayuri Kurotsuchi's lab. Instead, he found himself standing in the middle of a meadow, the blackness of night wrapping the sky. "Where is this place?' he wondered. "It looks like the Rukon District but…"_

 _He began to walk, hoping to figure out where he was. Shivers ran down his spine when he saw something littering the ground: bodies. "What happened?" He knelt down to check one of the bodies but saw that he didn't need to check. He knew that he was dead. They were all dead. "Who could've done something like this?" he asked._

 _The sound of footsteps startled Ichigo. Standing back up, he whirled around to see someone walking by him past a huge mound shrouded by the night. The figure's back was turned but Ichigo instantly recognized who it was by the back of her head. "Captain Unohana!" he gasped in surprise. "You're okay!" But he was confused. Why was she wearing a Haori with the number eleven on it instead of four?_

 _He ran up to the woman and called out to her again. "Captain Unohana!" When she didn't respond Ichigo, he reached for her shoulder…and watched in bewilderment when it went right through it. "What?!"_

 _Unohana stopped, not noticing the phantasm behind her. Ichigo walked around to try to get her attention. But when he did, he realized that this wasn't the Unohana he knew._

 _The most obvious thing was Unohana's lack of her trademark braid. Instead her hair hung down her shoulders. The look on her face also perturbed Ichigo. There wasn't the usual kind smile on the woman's face, only a look of irritated disdain._

" _Wait a minute…" Ichigo started putting two and two together. "Am I…in Captain Unohana's memory?"_

" _Captain Unohana!"_

 _Ichigo turned to see a squad member walk towards them. As he approached, rain started to come down on them, though it merely passed through Ichigo. "I couldn't do it," he told his captain. "No matter how much I looked…I couldn't find in the Rukon District strong enough to satisfy you."_

 _Ichigo was completely lost. "Satisfy?" he repeated in confusion._

 _The cold, indifferent Unohana merely turned and looked at her subordinate with a look of boredom. "You realized my true intentions?" she asked the man._

 _The Soul Reaper nodded, hefting his zanpakuto on his shoulder. "Of course. Your mission of 'Eradicating vandals in the outskirts of the Rukon District to preserve the peace of the Seireitei' You'd never propose such an idea if that wasn't your reason!" He kicked one of the bodies. "Slaying these hoodlums will amount to nothing." He then gestured to something that Ichigo hadn't noticed before, something that truly startled him. "The size of that pile of bodies is the size of your dissatisfaction!"_

 _Ichigo turned and his jaw hung in disbelief. What he'd assumed was a mound of dirt was a massive pile of bodies. And as his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he saw that they were all carrying sword wounds. He turned back to Unohana, hoping that the woman wasn't responsible for such an atrocity._

 _To his surprise, Unohana showed a modicum of confusion herself. "That pile…" she gestured, turning back to her man. "How long has it been there?"_

 _The nameless man blinked. "Huh? Didn't you slay these men?"_

 _Ichigo turned back to inspect the pile, wondering if there were any survivors. His attention was caught when something moved on top. Ichigo thought it was one of the hoodlums killed but realized that it was not the case. It was a boy._

 _But when lightning flashed and Ichigo got a good look at the child, his shocked expression only grew. That shaggy black hair. The eyes that lusted for battle. The chipped zanpakuto._

 _The boy was Kenpachi Zaraki._

 _In the blink of an eye, Kenpachi had leapt off the pile and lunged for Unohana. Ichigo whirled around. "Captain Unohana! Look out!" But he saw that the woman had a bored look on her face. She drew her zanpakuto and met Kenpachi's blow._

 _It was something of a marvel for Ichigo to watch. He'd never seen Unohana in combat nor had he ever seen Kenpachi fight the way that he did now. The way their blades clashed made even the air shake. "They're…so strong!" Ichigo said in awe._

 _Just as fast as Kenpachi had started to fight, his sword knocked aside Unohana's. Ichigo let out a shocked scream when Kenpachi's sword sank into her chest. He expected a look of shock on Unohana's face but instead he saw something that truly puzzled him: jubilation._

 _Suddenly the image of Kenpachi striking Unohana froze. Before Ichigo could even blink the memory dissolved like sand. Color swarmed Ichigo's vision as he struggled to comprehend what the hell was going on. When his eyes came back into focus he found that Kenpachi and Unohana were gone. He was no longer in the Rukon District. Instead, he found himself standing on top of one of the buildings of the Seireitei. "Where am I now?"_

 _He heard chatter behind him and turned around. On the rooftop across from him he saw three people huddled together, all wrapped in thick cloaks to protect them from the winter chill. He hopped across and landed next to them. He saw that it was Rangiku, Momo and…_

 _"AIZEN?!"_

 _Immediately Ichigo reached behind him for Zangetsu out of a sense of alarm. But when his hand only grabbed air he remembered that he dropped Zangetsu when he'd lost consciousness. Upon further inspection, Ichigo realized, like with Unohana, this wasn't the Aizen he knew and despised._

 _Laughing heartily, the captain of Squad Five, Souske Aizen, smiled happily as he conversed with the two lieutenants. His appearance was the same before he defected from the Soul Society, with his bookish glasses and finely combed hair._

 _Ichigo looked up to see Captain Hitsugaya join them. "Hey! Here he is!" Rangiku chirped merrily._

 _Toshiro seemed to be just as confused as Ichigo. "Huh? Why are Momo and Aizen doing here?"_

 _Momo's face turned red. "Toshiro! That's CAPTAIN Aizen!" she insisted._

 _"Then that's CAPTAIN Hitsugaya to you…" Toshiro scoffed. He turned to his lieutenant. "Why'd you call me up here?"_

 _"Don't be dumb. It's your birthday! See? Look!"_

 _When Rangiku pointed to the sky, fireworks began to erupt, introducing bright color to the night's black canvas._

 _Rangiku turned back to her captain and gave him a gentle smile, one that Ichigo wasn't used to seeing. "Fireworks in winter are nice. It'd be even better if it were snowing."_

 _Toshiro rolled his eyes. "It'd be freezing then, you idiot."_

 _Ichigo was once again caught off guard when Aizen spoke. "Happy birthday, Toshiro," he said with a warm smile._

 _But Toshiro didn't seem to appreciate the appreciation. "Birthdays don't mean much to us from the Rukon District…" he lamented, looking off in the distance. Ichigo frowned, wondering what was going on in that head of his. "We aren't born here like nobles." His eyes turned back to Aizen, who was giving him a knowing look, like a parent encouraging him to continue. "We're all the same. Nobody remembers the day he was born. We all have to trust another's word on the matter."_

 _Ichigo looked around and was saddened when he saw that both Momo and Rangiku became saddened, their happy mood brought down by Toshiro's cynicism, especially Rangiku, who looked lost in reflection. He turned back and suddenly saw Toshiro in a different light. "Toshiro…"_

 _Aizen merely continued to smile. "It doesn't matter if it's true or not. Just having a birthday…makes one happy, I think."_

 _Ichigo stared at the man, not knowing how to take all of this. This…this was so unlike the Aizen he knew. The warm smile on his face, the kind eyes full of understanding, the soft voice that brought warmth even in the dead of night. It was almost too much for Ichigo to comprehend. This was the Aizen they knew?_

 _But apparently Aizen's words had their intended effect. Continuing to watch the fireworks light up the sky, Toshiro nodded. "Thanks Aizen…Momo…Rangiku…"_

 _Once again the image suddenly froze. Even though he was ready for it this time Ichigo was still blinded as the world around him shifted and blurred with color, restructuring to another memory._

 _Reeling from the disorientation, Ichigo rubbed his eyes, his legs wobbling. When his eyes came back into focus he recognized the surroundings. "Wait…this is…"_

 _He found himself in Byakuya Kuchiki's room. He saw the captain sitting next to a woman, laying in bed. "Byakuya?" When the man didn't take notice he knew that he was in another memory. Walking over to him he looked down to see who was in bed, only to stumble backwards at the sight of Rukia bedridden. "Wait, Rukia? Why is she…"_

 _But the words died in his mouth as he figured out a few things. He realized that this wasn't Rukia, the woman looking slightly older than his friend. "Wait…if she's not Rukia…then that must mean she's-"_

 _"Hisana…" Byakuya whispered softly, holding his wife's hand. Ichigo knelt down next to the man. A lump formed in Ichigo's throat when he saw the pale, sickly look on Hisana Kuchiki's face. Ichigo didn't need to be the son of a doctor to know that the woman didn't have long for this world._

 _Turning her head, Hisana began to speak, her voice soft but strained. "Lord Byakuya…please find…my sister," she pleaded to her husband. "But when you do…" her hand squeezed Byakuya's, "don't tell her that I was her sister. Just use your power to protect her…" Her eyes showed pain, making the lump in Ichigo's throat go bigger. He felt sick, knowing that he could only watch and not be able to do anything, to tell her that Byakuya would keep his promise and protect Rukia. "I abandoned her. I have no right to call her my sister. But please…allow her…to call you brother."_

 _As she continued speaking, Ichigo saw tears begin to well up in Byakuya's eyes. Never had Ichigo ever seen the man look so vulnerable._

 _"Even now I'm causing you trouble." Hisana smiled. "I'm sorry I cannot…repay the love that you gave me. The five years I spent with you were like a wonderful dream."_

 _"Lord Byakuya…"_

 _All Ichigo could do was watch silently as Hisana slowly passed away, her hand slipping from Byakuya's hold. The man, now a widower, hung his head and grieved for his wife. Ichigo wanted to say something, anything, to try to tell Byakuya how sorry he was. He opened his mouth, forgetting that it was pointless to try to speak when he was just a ghost in a memory._

 _And then he woke up._

Opening his eyes, Ichigo sat up straight, sweat covering his face as he struggled to breathe.

"Isane! He's awake!"

Ichigo found himself in Squad Four, in one of the medical centers. In an instant he saw Rukia and Renji rush to his bedside. "Ichigo! Are you okay?"

"I…" Ichigo couldn't even begin to comprehend what had happened. How could he tell them what he saw? Especially what he saw from Byakuya's memory? "What happened?"

Renji crossed his arms and scowled. "Captain Kurotsuchi happened. His experiment went out of control. Do you remember what happened?"

"Yeah. I remember the experiment going haywire. I attacked it and then…nothing."

"From what Mayuri told us, the Synthesis Orb took in too much energy. When you struck it with your Getsuga Tensho, the feedback caused it to go into overload and respond by hitting you with a charged blast of highly concentrated spirit energy."

"What about your brother? And the other captains?"

Both lieutenants looked at each other before shaking their heads sadly. Renji stepped out of the way so Ichigo could see behind him. He saw Byakuya, Toshiro, Kenpachi and Unohana in beds beside him.

"They're all still in comas," Rukia told him, saddened almost to the point of tears. "My brother hasn't woken up yet. None of them have…"

Renji put a hand on Rukia's shoulder comfortingly. "It'll be alright, Rukia," he said, trying to cheer her up.

"What's wrong with them?"

The other captains' lieutenants were all by their respective captain's bedside. Standing next to the unconscious Kenpachi, Ikkaku looked up, a look of anger on his face. "Whatever that psycho did, it drained them of their spirit energy. They've got a pulse but they haven't recovered any at all. It's like…" His hands balled into fists. "It's like they've become empty shells!"

Standing next to him, Yumichika looked at the Substitute peculiarly. "Speaking of which, Ichigo, do you feel any different. You were blasted by the combined energy of all four captains. How are you feeling?"

Ichigo looked down at himself and shrugged. "I don't know. I don't feel any different."

Yumichika pointed at the table containing the five Soul Reapers' zanpakutos. "Well the reason I ask is…well…take a look at your zanpakuto."

Getting out of bed, Ichigo walked over to his table and stared in disbelief. Zangetsu had completely changed. It resembled his original zanpakuto now, returning to the shape of an oversized katana. Due to the effects of the Synthesis Orb, Zangetsu now had attributes from all four captains. It had Byakuya's purple hilt, Toshiro's star-guard, Unohana's curve and Kenpachi's chipped edge. He picked up the huge sword and tried to contact his spirit within. "Zangetsu? Zangetsu, what happened?"

No sooner did he try to contact Zangetsu did another swarm of images pop into his head. Zangetsu slipped from Ichigo's hands as the boy staggered backwards, his hands going to his head. "Arghh!"

"Ichigo!" Everyone rushed to his side. Rukia put a hand on his arm to try and calm him down. "Just take a breath. What's wrong?"

"I keep…seeing images."

Rangiku put her hands on his shoulders to steady the boy. "We don't know what that thing might have done to you. Just try to take it easy for right now until we can figure out what's wrong with my captain and the others."

"Right…" Ichigo nodded. He turned to look at the four sleeping captains and grew more concerned, wondering not only what was wrong with them, but what was wrong with him…

 _ **Meanwhile…**_

"Ughhh…" Toshiro groaned as he opened his eyes. "What on earth? What happened?" he mumbled before sitting up. "I remember Mayuri's orb…then I grabbed Byakuya…then…"

"It would appear that Captain Kurotsuchi's device had an unintended side effect."

Captain Unohana walked over to the boy and helped him up. "I am glad to see you are alright, Captain Hitsugaya. I was starting to worry you would never wake up."

"Thank you but where are the others?"

"We're here."

Byakuya and Kenpachi walked over to the two, both men having woken up already. "Seems like we're all here," Toshiro said before looking around. His sense of bewilderment overwhelmed him when he took in their surroundings. "What? What the hell?"

Annoyed by this bizarre world, Kenpachi shouted what they were all thinking.

"What is this place and WHY IS EVERYTHING SIDEWAYS?!"

To be continued


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter Three_

 _ **Hours later…  
**_ **Squad Four**

Ichigo stood alone in the middle of an empty field out back behind the medical center. After all the chaos that'd gone down he needed some fresh air. Rukia and Renji were still inside, neither wanting to leave Byakuya's side. The other lieutenants were in similar distress. None of the four captains had awakened yet. And until Mayuri could figure out what exactly happened with his experiment they would have to wait for answers.

In his hand was the morphed Zangetsu. It felt so odd to Ichigo, holding the weapon. It felt foreign to him, like he wasn't holding his own sword that he'd gotten used to fighting with. He didn't know what to make of it. Outwardly, it was an amalgamation of the four captains' zanpakutos. However, its spiritual pressure kept fluctuating wildly, making Ichigo wonder what on earth had happened to his dear sword.

In addition, Ichigo was trying to make heads or tails of the memories he saw. Why did he see them? All three memories left him feeling sorely confused and yet he was worried that if the captains awakened and he approached them about what he saw, they would take serious offense with Ichigo prying into their private affairs, especially Byakuya since Ichigo had born witness to the death of his wife.

Taking a couple practice swings with the oversized katana, Ichigo was reminded of his original zanpakuto, the one that Byakuya broke and Kisuke later shredded. "Seems so long ago…" he said as he swung.

The wind whipped around him as he continued swinging. And yet, something felt incredibly strange. Ichigo noticed that his form was more refined, his movements feeling practiced and coordinated. It was incredibly odd for Ichigo because of the fact that his style of fighting was more of freestyle than anything focused, having primarily relied on his combat experience. Pausing, he looked at the large, chipped blade and saw his reflection in the side.

A searing pain shot into his head and he dropped the sword, his hands going to his head as he reeled back in pain. Suddenly his mind was flooded with images of both Byakuya and Toshiro being instructed in the ways of proper swordsmanship. The muscles in Ichigo's arms and shoulders tensed as they memorized the movements from the hours upon hours of training the two had went through. "Rghhh!" Ichigo groaned as he struggled to remain conscious. "Make it stop!"

To try to push away the memories, Ichigo tried his best to think of something, anything, to make the flood of memories cease. He thought about his sisters and his father, of Ikumi and his classmates. He thought of Rukia and Renji, still remaining by Byakuya's bedside.

He thought of Orihime.

The soothing memory of his kind, beautiful friend was enough to stop the pain in Ichigo's head. Kneeling down on the ground, Ichigo took deep breaths and thought of the girl. The way her burnt-orange hair shined in the sunlight. How her smile warmed his heart and the way her soft eyes seemed to always worm their way into his heart. Slowly, his lips formed a tender smile.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Ichigo sat down on the ground and took a deep breath. "What is going on? It's like that orb put all of their memories inside my head." He picked up Zangetsu and looked at it again, afraid of what might happen next. "I wish you could tell me what's wrong with me, Zangetsu."

He stood up and took another practice swing. Spotting an old straw practice dummy in the distance, Ichigo decided to give his changed sword a test. "Getsuga Tensho!"

To Ichigo's relief, his sword unleashed his signature technique. However, just like the blade itself, the technique had also changed slightly. Instead of a bright blue hue, Ichigo's attacked was multi-hued. It shifted from blue to white, to yellow and then to green before it hit the target, destroying it. "Wow. I guess that orb did infuse me with some of their spirit energy. Maybe if I could find a way to give it back to them…" he hypothesized, turning towards the medical center where the four captains were.

His thoughts once again turned to Orihime. "Wait a minute! That's it! Maybe Orihime can heal them!"

 _"Oh for goodness sake, would he just fuck her already!"_

Ichigo's eyes scanned the area but found no signs of anyone else. "Wait, that sounded like Kenpachi's voice!" Ichigo turned back to the medical center but saw no sign of him. "Kenpachi! Where are you!" he called out.

Only the wind answered Ichigo, confusing him as he stood in the field alone. "I could've swore I just heard him."

Another familiar voice came out of nowhere, this time louder. " _I don't get it, what is going on here?"_

Recognizing Toshiro's voice, Ichigo kept turning around, looking like he was trapped in a revolving door. But like with Kenpachi, he found no sign of the child captain. "Toshiro! Are you here?"

Suddenly Unohana's voice came out of nowhere. " _I'm more confused about our surroundings. Quite the curious world, Ichigo has."_

Frozen to the ground, Ichigo had a startling revelation. Slowly he put the puzzle pieces together. Mayuri's orb was meant to synthesize two Soul Reapers' inner worlds together. But having absorbed too much energy and overloaded with four captains spiritual energies, when Ichigo had attacked it the orb put all the energy into one person: Ichigo. Which meant…

"Oh no. Nonononono this can't be happening," Ichigo said, panicking at the idea of what'd happened." Sitting back down, Ichigo laid his sword out and began to meditate in the Jinzen form, clearing his mind in order to enter his inner world…

 _ **Previously…**_

Toshiro jumped from building to building, trying to figure out where the four of them were. He felt like he'd woken up inside of some bizarre world. All of the buildings were sideways, the skyscrapers stretching on and on towards the blue sky. "Nothing…" he noted before Flashstepping over to his contemporaries. "I can't figure out where we are. It looks like the World of the Living but…I've never seen a city like this."

Byakuya kept looking around, just as confused as the others. Ever the sharp one, Byakuya started retracing their steps to how they got there in the first place. "If I remember right, Mayuri's device started sucking us dry of our spirit energy. And then…" Byakuya thought back to what happened.

"Where's Ichigo?'

The three turned to Kenpachi, who was looking around with an excited grin on his face. Unohana frowned. "You believe that Ichigo Kurosaki is here with us, Captain Zaraki?"

Looking down at the woman, Kenpachi's smirk grew wider. "Can't you sense him? He's here too. I can feel it."

Byakuya frowned. He could sense Ichigo's presence too. And yet, there was no sign of the boy anywhere. Like Ichigo did, Byakuya started putting the pieces together and came to a stunning conclusion about where they were. "It would seem that Captain Kurotsuchi's device worked too well."

Toshiro blinked as Byakuya walked over to one of the windows on the building they were standing on and knelt down. "What do you mean? Do you know where we are?"

"Before we were knocked out, I saw in the orb's reflection that Ichigo attacked it in order to try to destroy it. It's highly possible that we were not only bridged with Ichigo's inner world when he attempted to rescue us, but we were inserted into it as well."

The three balked at the man, realizing that he was right. It made sense why they could sense Ichigo but couldn't find him. Ichigo wasn't near them, they were inside his soul!

As the three gathered around the window with Byakuya, they saw images appear in the window, Ichigo's world reacting to their curiosity. "What are we looking at?" Toshiro asked.

Unohana explained, "A Soul Reaper's inner world is the core of his soul. It's more than just the house our zanpakuto lives in. It's the center of our thoughts, our emotions, our memories and our feelings."

"Our memories?" Toshiro responded. "But why…why are we seeing my memories?" He saw in the window a memory of him practicing swordsmanship at the academy. "Why does Ichigo have my memory?"

Byakuya continued his hypothesis. "When our collective consciousness was brought here, our souls became linked with Ichigo's. So it stands to reason that some of our memories are blending into his."

The image shifted. The four saw the memory morphed into the image of Orihime Inoue. However, because this was Ichigo's mental image of her, they were amused by how the girl's image was enhanced, her face smiling at the four spying captains while hearts bubbled around her.

"It would seem that Ichigo's feelings for Orihime are quite affectionate," Unohana noted amusingly, blushing at how the image Ichigo had for his friend.

Kenpachi rolled his eye. He wasn't much for this lovey-dovey stuff. "Oh for goodness sake, will he just fuck her already!"

Unohana scowled. "You really do know how to ruin the moment, don't you?"

The image faded, showing nothing but a darkened window. Toshiro blinked in confusion. "I'm don't get it, what is going on here?" he asked. "How do we get out of here?"

Standing back up, Byakuya shook his head. "I'm afraid that there might not be a way out. We will have to trust that Captain Kurotsuchi will be able to reverse this."

Continuing to sit on her knees, Unohana merely looked at the bizarre cityscape. "I'm more confused about our surroundings. Quite the curious world, Ichigo has."

"I'll say," Toshiro added. "I've heard many of my men discuss their Inner Worlds but never have I heard of anything like this." The other three captain nodded in agreement.

Kenpachi's ears perked when he heard something. He stood up and whirled around to see a fountain of blue energy emerge from the building. "Looks like he's finally caught on to his unwanted houseguests," Kenpachi grinned. The other three stood up and watched as Ichigo emerged.

Blinking in surprise, Ichigo's jaw hung low when he saw the four captains in the depths of his soul. "Toshiro? Kenpachi? Byakuya? Captain Unohana? You're all in my Inner World?"

"That would appear to be the case," Unohana said.

Ichigo put a hand to his forehead as he tried to comprehend it all. "This must have happened because I attacked Mayuri's Synthesis Orb."

"That is what we have deduced. The question is, how do we leave?"

The five looked at each other, not sure of how to answer that question. Byakuya spoke next. "You need to inform Captain Kurotsuchi."

"Mayuri?!" Ichigo gaped. "It's because of him that you're in here!"

"Perhaps. But who else could help us get out of your soul?"

"Kisuke," Ichigo pointed out.

Unohana put a hand on his shoulder. "Are you willing to trust Kisuke Urahara any more than you trust Mayuri?"

Ichigo would have liked to have said yes, but upon reflection he knew that Kisuke had put him through his own fair share of crap. "You have a point. But…" Once again his thoughts turned to his crush. "What about Orihime? Maybe her powers could get you out."

"I would not advise that," Unohana told him. "Her powers of Rejection are dangerous. This isn't as simple as healing a laceration. It's possible that Orihime might make the situation worse."

Kenpachi couldn't help but snicker. "You sure there isn't another reason you want to see her?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ichigo asked hastily.

"Ignore him," Toshiro said, wanting to get back on track. "Go to Captain Kurotsuchi, Ichigo. Whatever's happening to us, we don't know if it'll get worse."

Ichigo had to concede that the captain made a point, however much he didn't like the idea of going to Mayuri for help. "Okay. I'll go see him now. Bye, guys." Ichigo concentrated and left his Inner World, leaving the four inside.

Toshiro continued to look around. "You know, I just had a thought."

"What is it?" Byakuya asked.

"We're in Ichigo's Inner World, the home of his zanpakuto. So…where's his zanpakuto?"

Unohana nodded. "I was wondering that myself. Could our presence have affected Ichigo's Zangetsu?"

"Not quite."

Hearing the unknown voice, the four turned around and saw a cloaked figure standing on top of a pole, looking down on them. The billowing black cloak reminded them of Ichigo's Bankai jacket and they knew who they were looking at. Upon seeing his face, Unohana gasped in horror. She'd recognize that face anywhere.

"You!"

To be continued


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter Four_

 _ **Ichigo's Inner World**_

The four captains all stared at the figure in black, standing atop of a pole. While three of the four looked at the man with curiosity, Unohana's expression hardened. It may have been a thousand years but she knew that face. She knew this man.

Walking forward, Unohana drew her zanpakuto. The men all blinked in confusion. They'd never seen Unohana actually draw her weapon in a long time. "Captain Unohana? What are you doing?" Toshiro asked.

Unohana and the man in black locked eyes. "How?" she simply asked. "How are you here? And why are you in Ichigo Kurosaki's Inner World?"

Byakuya looked from Unohana to the man in black then back to Unohana. "Captain Unohana, I'm confused. I was under the impression that this is Ichigo's zanpakuto, Zangetsu? Are you saying that he isn't?"

Before Unohana could answer, the man spoke up. "I am Zangetsu." He stretched out his arm. The captains saw Ichigo's zanpakuto in his hand. He turned back to Unohana. "As for who you think I am…I am and I am not the person you say I am."

Unohana narrowed her eyes, gripping her Minazuki tightly. "What are you saying?"

"Just that for the moment, I am not your enemy," Zangetsu simply said. "I would advise against starting a conflict, Captain Unohana. You could hardly afford to destroy your own zanpakuto."

"Speak plainly," Unohana said, her tone harsh and blunt.

"You did not only invade Ichigo's soul. Your zanpakutos are now bound to him, and therefore they are a part of me. If something were to happen to me you would lose Minazuki, Senbonzakura and Hyorinmaru."

Toshiro stepped forward. "Wait, Hyorinmaru is here too?"

"He is." Zangetsu gestured to himself. "He is a part of me. They are sleeping. The transfer to Ichigo's world has put them in a slumber. I do not know what will happen when they awaken. But if you doubt my words, then just try to attack me," Zangetsu threatened, pointing his weapon at Unohana. "However, I warn you now. Any damage you do to me or to Ichigo's Inner World is reflected right back at Ichigo."

Byakuya put his hand on Unohana's shoulder. "He's right. We can't afford a fight here, not when we don't know how to leave Ichigo's Inner World." He glanced over at Zangetsu. "I know who you think he is too. But if he was going to attack us, he would have."

Kenpachi scoffed. "I'm wishing he would. Ichigo's zanpakuto should be as strong as him."

Unohana relented, knowing that it was pointless to argue when there were too many unknown elements to this whole fiasco. "Fine." She gave Zangetsu a warning glare. "But I will be watching you."

"As will I," Zangetsu merely stated before turning around to head back to his pole.

As Unohana and Byakuya returned to the other two captains, Hitsugaya cocked his head and looked as lost as Kenpachi. "What was that about?"

"Ichigo's zanpakuto bears a stark resemblance to a man from a thousand years ago," Unohana said. "I do not know what he meant by "he is and isn't who I think he is" but he is not to be trusted."

"Regardless, we should not make any rash moves," Byakuya added, giving a stern glance over at Kenpachi. He could tell that Kenpachi really wanted to fight Zangetsu, judging by the look on his face. "We cannot do anything that might bring harm to Ichigo. If anything happens to him we may all perish along with him."

"Tch! Fine…" Kenpachi said.

"We'll simply have to wait," Toshiro decided. "Hopefully Kurotsuchi will be able to find a solution to all this…"

 _ **Meanwhile…  
**_ **Squad 12: R &D labs**

"Hmm…very interesting…" Mayuri mused, looking at the data as it flashed onto the screen.

"Have you found something, Captain Kurotsuchi?" Rukia asked, her eyes hopeful. The other captains and lieutenants were behind her, even the Head-Captain was here after being appraised of the situation.

"Yes, Lieutenant. It would appear that Ichigo Kurosaki is telling the truth."

"Question?" Ichigo asked. "Can you PLEASE take these out of me?"

Sitting in a chair, Ichigo had countless pins in his body. Mayuri had practically turned him into a pincushion. At the tips of each needle was a cable that fed back data to Mayuri's computer.

The Head-Captain walked up to the scientist. "Are the other captains truly inside his Inner World?" he demanded to know.

Hitting a few keys on the computer, Mayuri gestured to the monitor. "Take a look."

The captains looked up at the huge monitor and were confused by the six dots on the screen. One of the dots was blue, another black, one yellow, one green and two white. "What are dots supposed to signify?" Kyoraku asked.

"Really? Don't you get it?" Mayuri scowled, pointing back to the pincushion that was Ichigo. "Those dots represent individuals inside a person's Inner World. There should only be one dot on the screen, the one that represents a Soul Reaper's zanpakuto. In Ichigo Kurosaki's case, there should be two. One for his Zangetsu and the second for his Hollow. But here we have six!" He pointed back to the dots. "The white ones must indicate Captain Kuchiki and Hitsugaya. The yellow indicates Zaraki while the green one represents Captain Unohana."

"I see…" Yamamoto looked over at Ichigo, who was giving constant yelps as Nemu painfully pulled the needles out of him. "Have you any idea how to safely remove the captains from Ichigo's Inner World?"

Sighing, Mayuri turned and looked at the Synthesis Orb, his eyes on the huge scar on the side. "That might be a challenge. Ichigo Kurosaki damaged the device. Until it has been repaired and analyzed to find out what went wrong, I can only speculate on how to fix this."

"Wait, so this is my fault?!" Ichigo shouted before Nemu pulled out another needle. "YOW!"

"Why yes, this IS your fault, Ichigo Kurosaki," Mayuri scornfully told him. "If you hadn't attacked my experiment we wouldn't be in this mess."

"Hey!"

"Enough!" Yamamoto stomped his cane into the ground. "Blame can be placed later. We must deal with the catastrophe at hand. How soon can you repair your device?"

"Judging by the damage I'd say it'll take some time," Mayuri lamented.

Sighing, the old man turned away and walked over to Ichigo. "Ichigo Kurosaki, how exactly are you feeling right now?" he asked. "Are the others okay?"

"I think so," Ichigo said. "Before, I could hear snippets of what they're saying. Right now I can't really hear them but I think they're just keeping quiet until I understand what's happening." He gave the old man a sad look. "I'm sorry. I wish I knew how to get them out."

"As do I, boy. As do I. They are sorely needed." He looked over at the onlooking Rukia, Renji, Ikkaku, Yumichika, Yachiru, Isane, Momo and Rangiku. All of them were looking at Ichigo with sad expressions. "I wish there were some way to put their minds at ease. We do not know how exposure to someone else's Inner World will affect them."

"I was in Koga's Inner World when I fought Muramasa," Ichigo pointed out.

"But you were only in there for minutes and Koga was already deceased. Even now, I find it questionable if that was Koga Kuchiki's Inner World at all," Yamamoto countered. "But for the moment all we can do is wait."

"What should I do?" Ichigo asked. "I was hoping to go home."

Yamamoto thought about it and gave a slow nod. "I suppose there's no harm in letting you return to the World of the Living."

Ukitake spoke up. "Is that wise, Head-Captain. If something were to happen to Ichigo…" he glanced over at the dots representing the captains on the screen.

"Ichigo Kurosaki has already proven to be more than capable. And if the other captains are indeed within his soul he'll have the combined knowledge and powers of four captains. I have no doubt that he'll be able to handle himself. However," he turned his gaze to Mayuri. "I insist that you give Ichigo a device to communicate with the Soul Society should something unexpected happen."

"Hmm…I was hoping I'd get to experiment on him but I guess that'll do." Mayuri reached into a drawer and pulled out a cell phone before tossing it to Ichigo. "Here. This will allow us to keep in contact with you."

"Thanks," Ichigo said, pocketing the phone.

"Ichigo, whatever you do, please be careful!" Rukia pleaded. "If you get hurt, who knows what'll happen to my brother and the others."

"I'll be fine, Rukia," Ichigo said with a reassuring smile.

"Please, do be careful," Isane insisted. "Is…is Captain Unohana okay?" she asked with pleading eyes.

Nodding, Ichigo smiled at the tall lieutenant. "When I saw her, she seemed like she was okay."

Isane breathed a sigh of relief. "That's relieving to hear."

Saying goodbye to everyone, Ichigo headed home for Karakura Town. He'd had a long day and was ready to go to sleep in his own bed…

 _ **Later…  
**_ **Karakura Town; Ichigo's House**

Kon hummed merrily as he lay on Ichigo's bed, busy looking at a porn magazine he'd picked up earlier. "Heheheh…" he giggled gleefully, still in Ichigo's body. "Damn, I wish Orihime and Rukia were as bold as these fine ladies."

"Kon…where did you get that?" asked a threatening voice.

"Huh?" Kon turned around and his eyes almost popped out in alarm when he saw Ichigo standing at the foot of his bed, his arms crossed and a look of anger on his face. "ICHIGO!" he gasped, sitting up and hiding the magazine behind him. "I thought you were still in the Soul Society!"

"A lot of stuff happened. Hand it over." He held up his hand and glared at the mod soul in his body.

"But I spent so much money on it!" Kon whined.

"Yeah, _my_ money!" Ichigo retorted. "Now hand it over."

The Mod Soul relented and handed over the porn mag. Ichigo looked at the cover and scowled. ' _Of course Kon would go for the cosplay mags…'_ he thought, turning around to throw the dirty magazine in the trash.

" _Oh? Is that what young men in the World of the Living are interested in?"_ came Unohana's voice from out of nowhere.

" _How deplorable. I'd expect you to have better control over your own Gikongai, Ichigo,_ " added a disapproving Byakuya.

"Hey, you guys keep quiet! It's not my fault what this sleazebag gets up to when I'm not around!" Ichigo said out loud…before he realized that he said it out loud.

Kon looked at Ichigo funny, concern spreading across his face. "Uhhh, you okay, Ichigo?"

Blushing in embarrassment, Ichigo put his hands up defensively. "I'm fine, Kon. It's just that-"

" _Wait, I thought Ichigo had a Mod Soul that ended up with Kisuke Urahara. Not a Gikongai,_ " interrupted Toshiro.

"Would you be quiet?!" Ichigo shouted, hoping that the captains would give him a chance to speak.

Kon slowly started to move towards the door, clearly afraid of an Ichigo shouting at the voices in his head. "Ooookay. Ichigo, I'm going to go find Kisuke and we'll see about getting you help…"

Taking a deep breath, Ichigo put himself between the Mod Soul in his body and the door. "Wait, it's not what you think," he started.

"That's what all crazy people say," Kon retorted while aiming for the window.

"Kon, a lot of stuff happened while I was in the Soul Society." He put a finger to his temple. "I've got four captains stuck in my Inner World. Their voices are in my head. That's who I'm talking to."

Kon just stood there, even more confused than before. "Four captains are in your head? Why?"

Ichigo put him back into his plushy and returned to his human body before explaining to Kon what happened with Mayuri's experiment and the subsequent aftermath. Kon's fluffy jaw dropped when Ichigo finished. "Wow! That's crazy!"

"I know." Ichigo rubbed his temples. "Their voices keep dropping in and out. It's really jarring."

" _Actually, Ichigo. I think you can hear us better when we look through a window to one of your buildings. We can see what you see through it,"_ explained Toshiro.

Kon's voice brought him back into focus. "So you've got four captains inside you now? Who're they?"

"Oh, there's Kenpachi, Toshiro, Byakuya and Captain Unohana."

" _Why'd you only call Captain Unohana by her proper title?_ " asked an incensed Toshiro.

"Four captains huh?" Kon struck a ponderous pose and sat down on the desk. "So what're they like?"

"Oh, well there's Toshiro-"

" _Captain Hitsugaya!"_

Clenching his teeth, Ichigo ignored the captain's insistence on using his title. "He's…" He tried his best to sum up the captain. "Imagine Karin if she were a captain, but a lot more serious," he told Kon, the image of Karin wearing a Soul Reaper's outfit, _Haori,_ zanpakuto and all popping into his head.

From inside Ichigo's Inner World, Toshiro and the others looked at the image that popped up in the window. The child-captain scoffed. "We are nothing alike!" he said.

"Then there's Kenpachi. He's a really big guy, spiky hair with bells on the end," Ichigo continued. "He loves to fight."

"Sounds like a psychopath."

"You've no idea…" Ichigo shivered. "Then there's Byakuya. He's…" Once again Ichigo struggled to find the words to describe the man generously since he knew the man was listening in on their conversation.

" _Well? We're waiting,_ " Byakuya piped in, curious about Ichigo's opinion of him.

"Very stoic…"

"Wait…Byakuya? Isn't he Rukia's brother?" Kon inquired.

"Yeah."

"Isn't that the guy that almost killed you? I thought you once called him, and I quote, "a giant asshole with a stick shoved up his ass". That's what you said."

Ichigo went silent. He could practically feel Byakuya's icy glare from within him. ' _I…may have said that at one point…'_ he told himself.

" _As crass as ever…"_ came Byakuya's cold voice.

"So who else is inside you?" Kon spoke, interrupting Byakuya.

"The last one is Captain Unohana."

" _Why is SHE the only one you'll properly address?!"_ shouted an increasingly irritated Toshiro.

"Unohana? What's she like? Is she as crazy as the rest of them?"

"No, she's not the others."

"She?" Kon's eyes lit up. "Is she hot? Is she a total babe like Rangiku and Orihime?"

Ichigo went stiff when he heard a soft chuckle within him. " _So tell us, Ichigo? Am I "a total babe" to you?"_

Sweat dripped down Ichigo's back and he knew he was on thin ice. Unohana wasn't somebody to cross, even inside his Inner World. "She's…uhh…very mature. Kinda motherly."

The pervy Mod Soul gasped. "You mean she's a MILF?! You've a MILF inside you right now? You lucky bastard!"

Ichigo bonked the Mod Soul on the head. "She is not a MILF, you pervert!" Unfortunately for him, Kon's words conjured the image of Unohana in sexy lingerie to appear in his mind. And he knew that it was being shown to the captains too.

" _Ichigo, control your degenerate mind,_ " said a scolding Byakuya.

However, Unohana seemed to be amused. " _My, what an overactive imagination you have, Ichigo. I'm flattered._ "

Groaning, Ichigo grabbed Kon and shoved him in the closet. Throwing himself down onto the bed, Ichigo buried his face in the pillow and sighed. "This is going to be a nightmare, isn't it?" he mumbled before drifting off to a dreamless sleep…

To be continued


	5. Chapter 5

_Chapter Five_

 _ **The Next Day…**_

Ichigo's nightmare was far from over.

He'd hoped when he woke up the next morning that it'd been all a dream and that he didn't have the four captains stuck in his head. Sadly, when his sister call for breakfast, he soon learned that his predicament was very real.

" _You should hurry up,"_ Byakuya told him as Ichigo slowly got dressed. " _You need food to keep up your strength."_

"You're not my mother!" Ichigo angrily retorted before leaving, telling Kon to shut it when the stuffed animal opened his mouth to speak. He ate his sister's pancakes and quickly left to go to school.

" _So this is your school,"_ noted Unohana as Ichigo walked up to the school, the bell beginning to ring. " _How interesting. I've never participated in a school day in the World of the Living before."_

 _"You're not missing much,_ " Toshiro said, remembering his time as Ichigo's classmate during the Arrancar incident.

"Would you guys pipe down?" Ichigo mumbled under his breath, trying his hardest to not let anyone hear him talk to the voices in his head. "Most of my classmates don't even know I'm a Soul Reaper. It's hard enough already dealing with everything else."

" _Just skip it then,_ " said Kenpachi, already sounding disinterested. " _Schools are boring anyway. The Old Man kept saying I needed to go through his when I first joined. Completely pointless…"_

"Shut up!" Ichigo hissed as he slammed his locker shut.

"You okay, Ichigo?"

Turning around, Ichigo saw his best friend, Tatsuki, standing behind him, a curious look on her face. "Tatsuki!" Ichigo said, unable to keep himself from gasping in surprise. "What were you doing behind me?"

"I was going to ask if you wanted to come with me to the dojo later to spar like we used to. You okay?" Tatsuki looked at her friend concerned. "You were talking to yourself."

"It's nothing," Ichigo said, scratching the back of his head. "I've just been having problems with the Soul Society, that's all."

"Oh! You mean it has something to with…" Tatsuki looked around to make sure they weren't being overheard before whispering, "your Soul Reaper job?"

"Kinda. I'll explain it later," Ichigo said before the bell rang. "We should get to class."

" _Ichigo! Why does she know about the Soul Society?"_ demanded an irate Byakuya.

Mentally cursing, Ichigo remember that he hadn't told anyone that his friends were aware of his double life as a Soul Reaper after their dangerous run in with Souske Aizen. Making a mental note to bring the captains up to speed on his school life later, Ichigo ignored the man's pestering question and took his seat in class.

Tatsuki sat next to him and the rest of Ichigo's friends came into class. First Chad, then Uryu, then Keigo and Mizuiro. Finally Orihime dashed into the room seconds before the bell rang again. "Sorry!" she panted. "I got held up!" she apologized before taking her seat.

As Ochi began the lesson Ichigo's eyes wandered to each of his friends. He wondered how he should tell them of his latest predicament. Again, he wondered if maybe, just maybe, Orihime's powers of Rejection could force the captains out of his Inner World and back into their own bodies.

As Ichigo thought about how he'd ask her for help, his eyes lingered on her. It wasn't until recently that he started to appreciate just how good Orihime looked in that school uniform…

" _Heheheh…"_

Ichigo blinked when he heard Kenpachi snicker. "Wha-"

" _Eyes forward, Ichigo. The four of us are not as interested in Orihime Inoue's legs as you are."_

Blushing in embarrassment, Ichigo turned away and began to focus in on the lesson, trying his hardest to keep from staring at Orihime again. Again his thoughts turned to the four captains. How much longer was he going to have to deal with them? He then thought about his changed Zangetsu. What kind of effect would they have on it?

The class continued on uneventfully. Ichigo continued to listen to Ochi's lesson, scribbling notes into a notebook, glad to have some peace and quiet in his own head.

But sadly, Kenpachi just had to ruin it.

" _This. Is. So. BORING!"_ he shouted, making Ichigo wince in pain. " _WHY ARE WE LISTENING TO THIS?! BREAK A CHAIR OVER SOMEONE'S HEAD OR SOMETHING!"_

"Ichigo? Are you okay?"

Ichigo realized that Ochi noticed him wincing. "I'm fine, Ms. Ochi," he said, feeling even more embarrassment when everyone turned and looked at him. "Just a headache, that's all."

"Oh, okay. If it gets worse, I'll send you to the nurse's office," she told him before getting back to the lesson.

" _Sorry about that, Ichigo,"_ Toshiro said. Inside Ichigo's Inner World, the three other captians had shut Kenpachi up by tying him with a kido spell, muzzling the big captain. _"We'll make sure that your school lesson is uninterrupted."_

Thankfully for Ichigo, most of his school day went without further incident. It became clear to the captains that they needed to be quiet so Ichigo could focus on his day-to-day life as a Human teenager.

However, as Ichigo was sitting on the rooftop with his friends, the four began to observe his friends and once again started to speak their minds.

" _Oh my!"_ Unohana giggled when Chizuru started to perv on Orihime, snaking up from behind to cop a feel of her bouncy bosom. " _Your friend with the glasses is quite spirited."_

" _How crass,_ " said Byakuya, not amused by Ichigo's antics as Chizuru, Keigo and Tatsuki got into an argument. " _You associate yourself with these children?"_

Ichigo muttered under his breath angrily, "They're my friends. Lay off. And in case you've forgotten, we're teenagers." He felt a wave of anger start to build inside him. It was bad enough that Byakuya mocked him constantly. But now he was in his head mocking his friends and Ichigo had to draw the line.

Hearing a noise behind him, Ichigo turned to see Chad holding Tatsuki back before she throttled Chizuru. Apparently the redhead had escalated her fondling by trying to unbutton Orihime's shirt, noting that she wanted to see how much her friend had grown. Despite the madness, Ichigo couldn't' help but smile. Sure, his friends were a little nuts. But they were still his friends.

Before Ichigo could resume his mental conversation, the bell rang again and he returned to his classes.

Ichigo managed to get through the rest of the school day without further incident. The captains had quieted down to not draw much attention to Ichigo and Kenpachi had fallen asleep after a while. The boy was grateful for the lack of distraction.

As the afternoon drew to a close, Ichigo began to pack up his stuff to go home. He stopped by his locker and opened it for a quick second before he heard voices. Looking up, he saw Tatsuki and Orihime talking to each other, the former keeping Chizuru at bay like usual. "Wonder what they're up to?" he wondered aloud. "Maybe I should try to wait until Orihime's alone…"

" _Ichigo, this isn't the time for that,_ " interrupted Toshiro. Inside Ichigo's Inner World, the four captains were sitting around a large window and looking through Ichigo's eyes. Kenpachi lay on his side, having just woken up and staring disinterestingly at the window. " _I know you're…enamored with Orihime, but I think that you need to focus on the more pressing matter."_

Surprisingly enough, Unohana went to Ichigo's defense. " _But Captain Hitsugaya, there is little Ichigo can do about us becoming trapped inside his Inner World until Captain Kurotsuchi fixes his machine. Ichigo is a Human first and a Soul Reaper second. We cannot have Ichigo stop everything in his life for our sake. Especially since we're unwanted guests in his own soul._ " Her eyes flicked over to Zangetsu, who was standing atop his pole like usual.

However, the four noted throughout the door that the man in black seemed a little… _off._ He looked sleepy half the time, swaying back and forth on the pole and his black coat seemed to shift with colors from time to time.

Back in the real world, Ichigo was still trying to figure out how to get Orihime alone when fate decided to throw him a bone. Orihime broke away from her friends and walked up to him. "Hey, Ichigo!" she beamed happily.

Orihime's happy face made Ichigo smile. "Hey, Orihime. What's up?"

"Oh, I just wanted to come talk to you before I head to the bakery."

"How is your job, by the way?" Ichigo asked, hoping to start off with some small talk before finally asking her out.

Orihime started to tell Ichigo about how fun being a baker was, but Kenpachi began to distract Ichigo by talking to the other captains. Though they kept their voices low, Ichigo could still hear them. " _I don't even know why he's so interested in her. The girl's more airheaded than a hot-air balloon. The girl with the black hair seems more of a match for Ichigo than her."_

 _"Kenpachi, don't be rude!_ " interjected Toshiro. " _I've stayed with Orihime. She's odd but she's far from dumb."_

 _"I agree with Captain Hitsugaya,_ " added Unohana. " _Orihime is a lovely girl. Don't judge."_

Ichigo tried his best to ignore the captains rambling and focus on Orihime. But it was getting harder and harder to focus with all of them talking at once. "Oh! That reminds me, I need to clean my aprons. I'm on my last one since I accidentally spilled-

" _Considering Ichigo's disposition, I'm inclined to agree with Kenpachi. Orihime seems way to gentle for someone like him. Tatsuki seems to be the more aggressive of the two. Perhaps she would-"_

 _"_ SHUT UP!" Ichigo shouted, unable to take it anymore. The fact that the four were discussing which of his friends was better suited to be his girlfriend was unbearable, especially if Byakuya and Kenpachi were involved.

Then Ichigo realized what he just did.

Orihime looked at Ichigo with wide eyes, the color draining from her face. "I…"

Ichigo's heart plummeted as he realized he'd just erred in the worst of ways. "Orihime, I'm so sorry! Let me-"

"I gotta go. I'm sorry for bothering you, Ichigo." Turning around, Orihime dashed away before Ichigo could explain himself, tears beginning to fall from her eyes.

"Orihime, wait!" Ichigo called out but it was too late. Orihime was out the door in an instant, leaving Ichigo heartbroken from his carelessness. He was alone…

He was alone with two very pissed off ladies.

Turning around, Ichigo saw Tatuski and Chizuru looking at him scornfully. Tatsuki cracked her knuckles while Chizuru looked at Ichigo with murder in her eyes.

"Ichigo, I can't believe you," Tatsuki said, grabbing Ichigo and shoving him into the locker. "How dare you yell at Orihime, you asshole!"

"You made my 'Hime cry!" Chizuru said, clenching her teeth in rage. "For that you must pay!"

The captains cringed as they watched Ichigo get the crud beat out of him.

Despite everything, Kenpachi couldn't help but grin as Tatsuki blackened Ichigo's eye. " _Okay, now I'm really starting to like her. She's feisty."_

To be continued


	6. Chapter 6

_Chapter Six_

 _ **Later that afternoon…  
**_ **Karakura Town**

The buildings blurred beneath Ichigo as he leapt from rooftop to rooftop. The cold wind made the bruises on his face sting all the more painful. Ichigo may be mighty but Tatsuki and Chizuru could really lay down a beatdown when they wanted to. He'd swapped places with Kon, letting the Mod Soul trudge on home by himself while he went off to go sulk from his stupid mistake.

" _Ichigo,_ " came the concerned voice of Captain Unohana. " _We're so sorry. We didn't mean to make you-"_

"Shut up!" Ichigo shouted, his anger at the four displaced captains a helpful balm for the pain in his heart. He didn't care that he told Unohana of all people to shut up. He was too hurt both physically and emotionally to care. "I don't want to hear anything from the four of you! Don't talk! Don't ever talk again!"

 _"Ichigo, you need to calm down._ " Ichigo bristled at the sound of Byakuya's voice. " _I understand you're upset. That is our fault. But you're becoming unstable. Your Inner World…"_

" _Why the hell is it raining?!"_ yelled an annoyed Kenpachi.

"Good!" Ichigo shouted at the top of his lungs. He remembered the hurt look on Orihime's face, her sweet expression crumbling and the tears in her eyes. The memory made Ichigo's heart clench. He didn't need to be told that it was raining in his Inner World. "I hope you four drown!"

" _Ichigo, please listen to-"_

"No!"

" _But-"_

"I don't care!" yelled the angry teen. "SHUT UP!"

 _ **Inside Ichigo's Inner World…**_

The four captains stepped away from the window they were looking through. "I think he's a little upset…" noted Unohana.

"The rain wasn't evidence enough?" Byakuya asked. Ichigo's hurt and sadness was reflected in his Inner World. As soon as Ichigo left his school, dark storm clouds gathered in the sky. Before long a torrential downpour began to come down on the captains' heads, soaking them through their _Haoris_. "I understand we've upset him but he needs to reign in his emotions. This is juvenile." Soul Reapers were trained to not let their emotions get the better of them, Squad Eleven notwithstanding. Ichigo's lack of discipline disheartened him.

The wind's howl grew louder while the storm continued its aquatic barrage on the four. Toshiro looked around to see if there was a place the four could take shelter. It was a pointless search since everything was sideways though. However, while his eyes scanned the surrounding area, he found that there was something wrong with their watcher. "Captains, what's wrong with Zangetsu?"

The three other captains turned around to see that Zangetsu was no longer standing on his pole. The shadowy spirit was now on the ground, hunched over on his knees. His expression was dazed and sleepy. His posture was so feeble it appeared that the strong wind would blow him off the side of the building at any moment.

"The hell is wrong with him?" Kenpachi curtly asked. "Don't tell me he's getting all mopey now too."

Unohana shook her head. "No. A Soul Reaper's emotions do not dictate the condition of his zanpakuto. Zangetsu shouldn't be acting like this just because Ichigo is so downtrodden."

Despite knowing Unohana's reservations, Toshiro decided to go and see what was wrong. "Zangetsu?" he called out through the stormy wind before making his way towards the man in black. "Are you okay?"

Looking up at the boy, Zangetsu opened his mouth to speak. What he would have said, however, would forever be lost when his eyes drifted shut and a blue flame suddenly erupted from him.

"ZANGETSU!" Toshiro and Byakuya shouted in alarm while Zangetsu disappeared in the blue flame. The fire didn't last because of the rain and was put out after only a few seconds.

But where Zangetsu had faded away, another spirit had taken his place.

"Ughh…" groaned the figure robed in purple samurai armor kneeling on the ground. "What in the world happened?" Byakuya stared in disbelief as the person rose to his feet. Behind the red demonic mask, blue eyes widened in complete shock from the sight of his master standing in front of him. "Master?!" gasped Senbonzakura.

"Senbonzakura, what are you doing here?" Byakuya demanded.

"I don't know. I was watching you and others participate in Mayuri's experiment. But something happened. My mind seemed to be pulled away from me and everything went dark." The zanpakuto looked around to see the other displaced captains as well as the stormy environment they were in. "Where are we, Master? I do not recognize this place."

While Byakuya brought his zanpakuto up to speed, the three other captains began to converse on this strange turn of events. "Why is Senbonzakura here?" Toshiro asked out loud, too confused by this bizarre development.

Fighting the chill from the cold rain, Unohana looked at where Zangetsu had disappeared. "Zangetsu told us that our zanpakuto were also within Ichigo but that they were dormant and asleep. It would appear that when Senbonzakura awakened, Zangetsu went to sleep instead."

Kenpachi sat on the ground and frowned. "So Ichigo can only have one zanpakuto at a time. But I don't have a zanpakuto spirit," he reminded them.

"Quite," Unohana nodded. "So Ichigo will not be able to draw upon your powers. But my question is what happened to make Ichigo switch zanpakuto spirits? Zangetsu was falling asleep before we made Ichigo blunder. Is there a certain amount of time our zanpakutos can remain awake? Or is it entirely random?"

While Toshiro and Unohana were pondering how this zanpakuto roulette came about, Kenpachi posed his own question. "So what's it mean for Ichigo now that Zangetsu is no longer here?"

Toshiro started to speak without thinking. "Well, if Senbonzakura is here then that would mean-" His eyes widened in horror as the reality of Ichigo's situation suddenly dawned on him. "Oh no!"

 _ **Meanwhile…  
**_ **Back to Ichigo**

Continuing his lonely trek through the town's rooftops, Ichigo ignored the voices in his head, trying to drown them out. "Can't believe I did that. Stupid! Stupid! STUPID!" he yelled, his voice getting louder. "I can't believe I made Orihime cry! Damn it all!"

Stopping on top of a water tower, Ichigo looked up at the sky and had to resist the urge to howl in anger. Trying his best to calm down, Ichigo hung his head and sat on the edge of the water tower. "Maybe I should go by her apartment and talk to her?" he pondered out loud. "I'll tell her about the captains. Maybe she'll believe me when I show her Zangetsu."

At the sound of the weapon's name, the blade on Ichigo's back shook with a quiet vibration. Ichigo turned his head to look at the blade curiously. "What the heck?" But the vibration in his sword went away just as face, leaving Ichigo perplexed. He thought about asking the captains but he didn't want to speak to them. He was far too angry to want to talk to them.

 _"Rooooooooarrr!"_

Ichigo snapped to his senses at the sound of a Hollow's loud roar. He quickly stood up and looked around, stretching out his senses to find the Hollow's presence. Once he found it, he quickly darted towards its location: an empty construction yard. "Good. I needed something to vent on."

" _Ichigo!"_ The voice of Toshiro filtered into his mind. " _Are you fighting a Hollow?"_

"Yeah. And leave me alone!"

" _There's something you need to know!_ " the captain told him.

"I don't want to hear it!"

" _But it's about Zan-"_

"I SAID SHUT UP!" Ichigo roared, quieting the captain and pushing out his incessant voice.

Charging towards an empty field, Ichigo found three snake-like Hollows chasing after the ghost of a little boy. Before the Plus could become the Hollows lunch, Ichigo leapt into the fray and put himself between the boy and the Hollows. "Get to cover!" he yelled to the ghost, making a mental note to perform a Konso on the child to send him to the Soul Society.

"Th-Thank you!" the crying child yelled back as he took off running.

Ichigo unsheathed his new zanpakuto and scowled. Something felt very off about the new Zangetsu. Ichigo couldn't tell if it was because of the new shape or if it was something else.

The roaring charge from the Hollows halted Ichigo's observations. "Doesn't matter. I've got to deal with them first." Ichigo slashed at the first Hollow that charged him. His sword cut through the head of the snake with little effort, bifurcating its face before it could chomp Ichigo to bits.

Watching the first Hollow disintegrate before their eyes, the remaining two Hollows started to circle Ichigo, keeping themselves out of reach of his long blade.

Without waiting for the two snakes to strike, Ichigo slashed at the nearest Hollow. But to his dismay, as his chipped sword sank into the Hollow's snakelike body it merely shed its skin and wormed away from the deadly strike. Noticing that the other Hollow was keeping its distance, Ichigo decided to strike at them from a distance. He held up his sword over his head. "Getsuga Tensho!"

But no attack came.

Ichigo's eyes widened in horror at the realization that his attack didn't release. The two Hollows took advantage of Ichigo's confusion and struck. Thanks to Ichigo's quick reflexes he was able to dodge the fanged jaws of the Hollows, Flashstepping to safety yards away. "Zangetsu, what's wrong?" he asked his blade, the Hollows resuming their encirclement.

" _That's what we've been trying to tell you!_ " said Toshiro, " _Zangetsu disappeared!"_

"What the hell do you mean he disappeared?!" Ichigo shouted, his anger at the captains growing. "What have you done with Zangetsu?!"

" _It's not us, Ichigo,_ " answered Unohana. " _Zangetsu told us that our zanpakutos were in a state of slumber. Shortly before you…um…had that 'outburst' with Orihime, Zangetsu started falling asleep. He disappeared a few moments ago and Senbonzakura took his place."_

"Senbonzakura?" Ichigo dodged another strike from the duo and jumped into the air to put more distance. While he could have taken the two easily with his regular Zangetsu, with his powers muddled by the captains inside him he didn't know how it affected his fighting ability. "Why is Senbonzakura-"

With the name of the sword spilling from his lips, memory began to flow into Ichigo's mind. Time stood still as a kaleidoscope of images swirled in his vision.

The storm inside Ichigo's Inner World subsided but the captains were far more concerned with the images in the windows. Byakuya and Senbonzakura hurried to the nearest window and watched as memories of Byakuya as a young man, looking no older than Ichigo when they first met him, practicing with his Shikai. "Master, what is this?" Senbonzakura demanded.

"Because I am within Ichigo's soul, Ichigo can see my memories." Turning away to another window, Byakuya saw Ichigo take a very familiar stance and scowled. "Ichigo, wait!"

But Ichigo was moving on pure memory. Gripping his longsword tightly in his hand, Ichigo brought Zangetsu to his face in a mock salute. As if possessed by Byakuya himself, Ichigo spoke the two key words.

"Scatter: Senbonzakura."

The large sword began to disintegrate into a thousand pieces. Still clutching the hilt of his weapon, Ichigo held up his arm and summoned a vortex of blades, the pieces glinting pink in the moonlight. From within Ichigo's Inner World, Byakuya couldn't believe his eyes; Ichigo was wielding his own zanpakuto!

Ichigo blinked and his mind came back into focus. He was in utter shock at the assembly of pink blades that hovered over him. "What? Why is…" he looked down at saw the bladeless hilt in his hands. His memory finally caught up with him and he remembered releasing Byakuya's Shikai. "I…I'm using Senbonzakura?"

" _It appears that when Senbonzakura took Zangetsu's place, the core of your zanpakuto changed with him. Instead of your Zangetsu's powers, you're now using mine,"_ explained the voice of Byakuya.

The two Hollows hissed at this new development, the one in front of Ichigo rearing back in preparation for another strike before Ichigo could make heads or tails of this new power.

The pink storm above Ichigo's head was difficult for Ichigo to maintain now that the boy's facilities had returned to him. ' _So many!_ ' Ichigo clenched his teeth as he struggled to concentrate. ' _How does Byakuya make it look so easy?'_ He brought his arm up and made a forward slashing motion with his hilt. The mass of blades spun around and surged towards the Hollow in front of him.

The snake Hollow hissed and tried to run away from the attacking blades. However, Senbonzakura's wide wave of pink blades was faster than it. With a shriek, the Hollow could only scream as a thousand blades ripped it to shreds, leaving only a bloody smear on the ground after the blades moved past it.

The sight astonished Ichigo. He knew that Byakuya's power was powerful but to wield it himself scared even him a little. "Whoa," was all he could say as he swung his arm again to call the blades back to him. The Hollow hissed behind him and lunged, eager to avenge its friends by taking a bite out of the Substitute.

" _Ichigo!"_ Byakuya warned when the boy swung his arm, sending a path of blades at the Hollow. The Hollow broke off its charge and moved along the ground faster, avoiding the streams of attacks Ichigo sent at it. Inside Ichigo's Inner World Byakuya grew gravely concerned as Ichigo haphazardly used his zanpakuto. " _Stop! You're drawing the blades too close!"_

Ichigo tried his best to use Senbonzakura. But with a weapon like Byakuya's, trying to mimic Byakuya's movements was easier said than done. Senbonzakura was not a power that could easily be replicated, even with Byakuya's movements guiding him.

While Ichigo was a formidable warrior, able to defeat the Espadas and even Aizen, wielding a power that wasn't his made him more vulnerable. And the Hollow could sense this. This was a powerful Soul Reaper wielding a power like a pure novice.

And it could exploit that.

Coiling its long serpentine body, the Hollow prepared another strike. As Ichigo was busy trying to call together the thousand blades, it leapt forward.

Byakuya could already see what was about to happen and the remaining three captains inside Ichigo quickly shared his dread. " _Ichigo! Stop!"_ he shouted again when Ichigo swung his arm to launch the blades at the Hollow. But the swift Hollow suddenly halted in its tracks and swerved to the left. Ichigo could hear Byakuya scream in his head, but when the Hollow coiled back for another strike, Ichigo stretched out his arm brought the blades back to him to form a wall.

…And then he screamed in agony as his right arm was shredded.

" _No!"_ screamed all four captains as they watched Byakuya's blades rip through Ichigo's arm. Inside Ichigo's Inner World, Unohana turned to her comrade. "What just happened? Why did Senbonzakura turn on Ichigo?"

"It didn't," Byakuya told her, looking up from the image on the window. "Senbonzakura is as dangerous to me as it is to everyone else. I'd developed a space around myself to prevent ever getting harmed by it. Only one other person knew of such a weakness." Byakuya's mind turned back to when Tsukishima exploited the No-Damage Zone during their duel. "But if Ichigo's in possession of my memories, why didn't he know about it?" he pondered.

"From the images we saw, Ichigo only knew of the release command and its basic workings," Toshiro surmised.

Kenpachi continued to look at the bleeding Ichigo and knew that things were going south fast. "You do realize if he dies we're all dead, right?"

Back in the real world, Ichigo staggered backwards. The pain was almost unbearable. He'd forgotten how bad Byakuya's zanpakuto hurt. His right arm and shoulder were both covered in lacerations, blood pouring down his arm and dripping on the ground. He grabbed his arm with his free hand and tried to brace himself. "Dammit!" he cursed. The damage to his right hand was so extensive that the hilt in his hand slipped from his bloody fingers. The blades came back to the hilt and formed the chipped blade again now that Ichigo's concentration had been shattered.

The Hollow hissed in delight. It had Ichigo right where it wanted it. Now it was dinner time. It saw Ichigo reach for his fallen sword and moved. It lunged forward, aiming its fangs at Ichigo's head before the boy could retrieve his blade.

" _Ichigo!"_ All four captains shouted again as they watched in horror, knowing that Ichigo would not be able to raise his guard up in time to save himself. Ichigo himself saw the Hollow upon him and braced himself.

"Santen Kesshun!"

Ichigo blinked as a wall of golden light appeared in front of him. "Huh?" was all he could saw when the Hollow slammed into it hard, cracking its mask. "But that's-" He spun his around and quickly found the source standing twenty feet away. "Orihime!"

The orangette recalled her spirits back to her and looked at Ichigo. The Substitute gulped when he saw the angry glint in her eyes. Ichigo gulped.

" _Uh oh,"_ Kenpachi snickered. " _Somebody's in trouble."_

Having been denied its prize, the Hollow turned its attention to Orihime. Hissing from the pain of its cracked mask, the snake Hollow coiled again and lunged to devour the teenager, believing that it could break through her shield this time.

But it was not a shield that Orihime used to defend herself. She put a hand to her hairpins and summoned Tsubaki. "Koten Zanshun!" Ichigo couldn't help but be impressed as Orihime's attack easily cut the Hollow in half.

As soon as the Hollow disappeared Orihime turned her attention back to Ichigo. After she'd made it to her apartment she felt a rare surge of anger at Ichigo's words and decided to give him a piece of her mind. But when she felt him fighting and sensed that something was wrong.

When her eyes took in the sight of the wounded and bleeding Ichigo the anger that had been brewing inside her deflated like a balloon. "Ichigo!" she gasped in alarm, rushing to her friend's aid. "Are you okay?"

"This…really has not been my day," Ichigo said with a weak smile.

"Hang on, I'll heal you!" She summoned her sprites again and put a healing barrier around Ichigo. As Ichigo knelt down and waited for Orihime's powers to heal him, he tried to get control over his emotions. The guilt and anguish he felt from his outburst before came back to him.

"Orihime…" Ichigo looked up at his crush and felt terrible from the hurt that still remained in her eyes, even while she was healing him. "Um…about earlier…"

The girl pursed her lips, focusing her attention on healing Ichigo's arm while putting off talking about the obvious. But the earnest look in Ichigo's eyes compelled her to speak. "Ichigo, that was hurtful. Why were you so mean?" she asked.

Sitting on his knees, Ichigo grabbed Zangetsu, _'Or is it Senbonzakura now?',_ and held it up to show her. "I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to snap like that. I wasn't angry at you. When I yelled at you I was actually yelling at them."

The sight of Ichigo's changed zanpakuto startled Orihime. "What happened to Zangetsu?"

Ichigo gave her a soft smile. "It's a long story…"

While the healing effect of Orihime's barrier mended the damage to Ichigo's arm, the boy explained the events of yesterday to his friend. Orihime listened quietly as she learned about the Synthesis Orb and how four captains were now displaced inside Ichigo's Inner World.

"-and they wouldn't stop talking. I…I didn't mean to yell out at you but I just lost it," Ichigo confessed.

But Orihime beamed with happiness. The anger and pain that she felt towards Ichigo for his hurtful outburst melted like warm butter in her heart. "That's okay! I forgive you, Ichigo," she told him with a merry smile. "So you have the captains' powers?"

"Yeah. But…I kinda messed up," Ichigo admitted. His hand went to his mended arm. Even healed, Ichigo could still feel the ghost of the blades.

" _Indeed. That was a reckless and shameful use of my zanpakuto,"_ chided an angry Byakuya. " _It took me decades to gain mastery over my zanpakuto. Did you think you could use my sword to the best of your ability based off of a jumble of my memories?"_ The knot in Ichigo's stomach grew from Byakuya's sharp words, knowing he was right. " _You realize, Ichigo, that if you had died because of your carelessness then all four of us would have perished along with you?"_ he asked with a raised voice, like he was reprimanding Renji or one of his squad members.

"…Sorry…" Ichigo mumbled.

Orihime looked at Ichigo confused. "Ichigo?"

"It's nothing. Byakuya is…being Byakuya," Ichigo explained. As Orihime lifted her shield, Ichigo looked at her and felt his heart start to beat faster. He'd been waiting for the opportunity to get Orihime alone and this was about as perfect a chance as he'd get. Only his inability to choose his words held him back. ' _What do I say?'_ he asked himself. ' _I know that she forgave me after I explained myself but I still feel terrible for yelling at her.'_

" _Why not invite her out on a date as a way to make it up to her?"_ offered the comforting voice of Unohana. From inside the sideways cityscape, the captains could see Ichigo's dilemma and Unohana decided to help the boy out.

Ichigo's heart soared at the suggestion. Sheathing his chipped sword, Ichigo mustered his courage and finally put words in his mouth. "Hey, um…Orihime?"

"Yes?"

"I feel bad about what I did earlier. I know I was angry at the captains for butting in but I shouldn't have yelled at you the way I did. I want to do something to make it up to you. Would…would you like to go see a movie with me?" he asked, his heart pounding with every word that came out of his mouth.

The blood in Orihime's body rushed to her face. The captains inside Ichigo watched in amusement as the girl's cheeks burned pink. The girl felt dizzy from the startling realization that Ichigo was asking her out but she quickly nodded nonetheless. "I'd like that," she said with a sweet smile, her heart fluttering with joy. "Tomorrow at six?"

"Sure," Ichigo nodded while smiling, unable to contain the joy from showing.

"Okay! I'll see you then!" She waved goodbye before heading home. Ichigo watched her go, wanting to watch the sight of her beautiful burnt-orange hair flowing in the afternoon wind for just a little longer.

 _"Oh would you just cut it with the cutesy crap and just fuck her already?!"_

Ichigo facepalmed before throwing his head up to the sky in anger.

"SHUT UP, KENPACHI!"

To be continued


	7. Chapter 7

**Warning: Lemon!**

 _Chapter Seven_

 _ **Later that evening…  
**_ **Ichigo's Room**

Night was beginning to fall as Ichigo slumped into his room. He felt tired, exhausted from today's events. He had been beaten black and blue by his friends, broken Orihime's heart, hurt himself badly thanks his Zangetsu playing zanpakuto roulette and managed to mend things with Orihime all in one day.

Throwing himself down onto his bed, Ichigo put his head on his pillow and groaned. "Ughhh…" He picked his head up and looked over at the combat pass on the nightstand next to his bed. "This is just too insane." He put his face back down into the pillow and groaned. "Not only are they in my Inner World but now I have their zanpakuto powers? What a mess…"

" _Sulking is not going to help your position, Ichigo,"_ chided Byakuya.

"Byakuya, how'd you feel if I were in your Inner World?" Ichigo retorted back, keeping his voice down so his sisters didn't find him talking to himself.

Unohana's voice was the next to cut in. " _Ichigo? Could you please come inside your Inner World? I feel like we need to discuss what's happening and it'd be best to speak face to face."_

Sighing, Ichigo sat up. "I guess. One sec." Getting up, he locked the door so he wouldn't be disturbed and grabbed his combat pass to push himself out of his Human body. Getting back on his bed, he laid his transformed Zangetsu on his lap and performed the Jinzen meditation like his father showed him. After a minute of meditating, Ichigo fell back into the sideways cityscape of his Inner World. Opening his eyes, he saw the four captains standing in front of him.

And they were not happy.

Before the others could begin their scolding, Unohana walked up to the boy. "Ichigo, how is your arm?" she asked.

"It's fine. Orihime's healing power works like a charm," Ichigo smiled before Unohana pulled up his sleeve to examine his hand and his arm.

"Yes, Orihime's powers are a marvel." Unohana nodded as she observed the orangette's handiwork. "But you should be more careful from now on," she scolded. "I don't need to tell you that if Orihime had not shown up in time, you would have possibly died."

"Killed by a bunch of puny Hollows," Kenpachi sneered, the anger apparent in his uncovered eye. "What the hell, Ichigo?! You beat Aizen! And you have our combined spirit energy. Shouldn't you be able to crush them easily even injured?!" he roared. "With all of our powers you should be able to bench-press the moon!

"It's not like that!" Ichigo shouted back. "I was caught off guard when Byakuya's zanpakuto attacked me! Do you know how bad it hurts to get your right arm shredded?! I couldn't even hold my sword!"

Byakuya crossed his arms and scowled at the boy. "Senbonzakura didn't attack you. You attacked yourself," he chided. "Your recklessness nearly cost you your life. And it would have claimed ours as well." When he walked over to Ichigo, the boy gulped from his stern gaze. "Don't forget that our lives are entirely dependent on you. From now on, we expect you to take more care in your battles."

The Substitute sighed and nodded his head. He knew that the captains were right. He had been reckless. Not only had it almost claimed his life but it also claimed theirs. "I know…I'm sorry," he said, nodding while looking down at the ground. He felt embarrassed, like he was caught having his hand in the cookie jar. "I don't know what happened. I kept seeing your memories of using Senbonzakura and my body just responded on its own."

The captains looked at each other and frowned. If Ichigo could not control the memories that were now bottled within him while he was in the thick of battle, then things were becoming problematic. And the situation was already precarious to begin with. "Ichigo, might I suggest something?" Toshiro asked.

"What?"

"I know that you consider our presence here an invasion of your privacy and that you have a hard time controlling our memories from overwhelming you. Since our zanpakutos are constantly shuffling inside your soul, it might be best if you start training to use our powers as your own. You weren't ready to use Byakuya's Senbonzakura and it almost got you killed. Think of how disastrous things might have become if you had used my Hyorinmaru."

Ichigo shuddered as the image of himself frozen in a block of ice popped into his head. "You might have a point." He sighed reluctantly and nodded. "Okay. But…" he stopped himself as another concern popped into his head.

"What is it?"

"These memories of yours…I have no control over them." Ichigo looked up at Byakuya and became worried. "They just happen without warning. What if I see something that you don't want me to see?"

Kenpachi rolled his eye. "Please, like I have anything to hide."

Unohana put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile. "Ichigo, if you don't have any control over our memories, how can we hold it against you if you see something against your will?"

Comforted by Unohana's warm words, Ichigo nodded and smiled. "Okay. Thanks, Captain Unohana."

The nerve on Toshiro's forehead twitched. "Again, why is _she_ the only one you'll address properly?"

"Give it a rest, Toshiro," Ichigo groaned before turning around. "I'm going to go to bed. I'm exhausted and I've a date with Orihime tomorrow."

"Oh? Are we planning anything interesting, Ichigo?" Kenpachi snickered.

"Kenpachi, shut up, you pervert!" Ichigo huffed and stormed off, disappearing in a blue light as he left his Inner World.

Unohana turned to the taller man and frowned. "Must you always be so vulgar and jeer him?"

Kenpachi shrugged. "It's the closest thing to entertainment here."

 _ **Back to Ichigo…**_

It didn't take Ichigo more than a minute to return to his body and unlock the door. Throwing himself back down on the bed, Ichigo sighed and closed his eyes. "Guess I should go over to Kisuke's after school to start training. Well…after I got to the movies with Orihime. Maybe she'll want to train with me…" he said softly. Hugging the pillow, Ichigo's mind started to wander as he fell into the soft embrace of slumber…

 _Ichigo and Orihime walked down a field of sunflowers, traveling through a sea of happy yellow. Ichigo wore a simple white t-shirt and pants. Orihime dressed in a flowing white blouse, her burnt-orange hair shimmering in the summer wind. The cool breeze made the plain of sunflowers flow gently as they walked through it._

 _The joy in Ichigo's heart at having Orihime all alone with him soared when Orihime reached for his hand and grabbed it. "This is beautiful," Orihime said. "Thank you for showing this to me." They continued their walk quietly through the sunflower field hand in hand._

 _Squeezing Orihime's hand, Ichigo stopped walking and turned to Orihime. In the past, whenever he tried to put words to the storm of emotions in his heart, he always fell short. He could never say how he felt. But here, staring into her soft, hazel eyes while feeling the wind wrap around them while the sunflowers dance, the words found him. "They're pretty but…you're more beautiful than them."_

 _Orihime's breath hitched when Ichigo reached up and caressed her cheek. His fingers gingerly touched her, the girl sighing from his gentle touch. She reached up and grabbed Ichigo's hand, pressing it into her cheek to feel his touch more. "Do you really mean that?" she whispered._

 _It felt odd for Ichigo as his face neared hers. Whenever he was near Orihime his heart would beat so loudly it threatened to burst out of his chest. But right now he was perfectly calm. His other hand gently grabbed her shoulder when she started to shiver. "I do. You're the most wonderful girl I've ever met," he whispered back. Going all the way he leaned forward until his face was just inches from hers._

 _"Orihime. I love you."_

 _As soon as Ichigo said the words he'd been wanting to express for so long, Orihime wrapped her arms around him and closed the gap between them. The taste of Orihime's lips was sweet, the softness of her pink lips making Ichigo's mind start to check out from the bliss flowing through it like a narcotic. Ichigo ran a hand through her hair, finding her orange locks to be soft as silk. He deepened the kiss and eagerly welcomed Orihime's tongue when it asked for entrance._

 _"Mmmmh!" the two lovers moaned. Orihime gripped Ichigo's shoulders while her tongue explored the depths of his mouth. She closed her eyes blissfully when Ichigo's embrace tightened. The two felt heat burn inside them when Orihime's large boobs pressed into Ichigo's broad chest. Orihime pulled away from Ichigo's kiss for a breath of fresh air but Ichigo wanted more. Giggling, Orihime leaned back and the two fell into the bed of sunflowrers, making out as they took the first step to becoming lovers._

 _And then they started taking the next step…_

 _Orihime gasped when Ichigo's hand touched her leg, his warm touch sizzling her cool thigh as it ran up underneath her blouse. "Ichigo…" she whispered. She wasn't afraid or intimidated by the look in Ichigo's eyes. There was only love and a matching longing for Ichigo. The carnal urge to become one with the boy she loved was too much for her to ignore. She took Ichigo's hand and guided it to her breast, groaning when his fingers sunk into her soft tit. "Take me…"_

 _"Are you sure?" Ichigo asked, despite the obvious tightness in his pants egging him on. "I don't know if I can hold back if I start."_

 _She put a hand on him and motioned for him to get off. Standing up, she pulled her blouse over her head and stood before Ichigo in her luscious splendor. She wasn't wearing a bra, standing amidst the sunflowers wearing nothing but white cotton panties. "I want you," she purred, the soft warmth in her eyes morphing into passionate fire. "I want you to make me a woman. I want you to make me your woman."_

 _Throwing his restraint into the summer wind, Ichigo whipped off his shirt and did away with his pants. Standing before his love in a pair of black boxers, Ichigo walked up to her and shared another deep kiss with her. The moan that left Orihime's plugged lips grew louder when Ichigo's hands started to grope her breasts. He could see why Chizuru lusted after her tits. Orihime leaned her head back and started to moan with a lewd tone Ichigo had never thought she was capable of. "Does it feel good here?" His hand dipped into her panties to touch her maidenhood. He found her honeypot to be moist, his fingers becoming stained with her silvery juices._

 _"Yes…it feels so good when you touch me there," Orihime panted. Ichigo was taken aback when she suddenly reached for her panties and pulled them down before grabbing his boxers and yanking them down too. "I want to touch you too."_

 _The softest hand touched his rock-hard shaft. Ichigo tilted his head back and moaned into the blue summer sky. He returned the favor and started to rub Orihime's pussy, her juices dripping down his fingers. Orihime laid her head on his shoulder and they held on to one another while getting each other off. "I love you…" Ichigo breathed._

 _"I love you too…" Orihime panted. The touch of Ichigo's fingers on her nether regions was lighting a fire in her belly. She wanted more than fingers. She wanted what she had in her hand: Ichigo's throbbing, meaty cock. "Make love to me, Ichigo."_

 _Laying her down on the flowerbed, Ichigo spread Orihime's legs and aimed his manhood at her virgin entrance. This was it. He gulped as he prepared himself. This was where he became a man. Pressing the tip of his cock against her dripping folds, Ichigo took a deep breath…_

 _…Before he noticed the four shadows in the distance._

 _"Huh?" Ichigo sat up and stared in confusion. He didn't recall those shadows earlier. Orihime looked at him confused, wondering why he stopped just short of giving her what she wanted. Ichigo's eyes widened in shock and disbelief when he realized who had been watching them. The blood left his cock and went straight to his face as the horror sunk in._

 _"GUYS?!" He screamed at the top of his lungs. "BYAKUYA?! TOSHIRO?! KENPACHI?! UNOHANA?!" He was frozen in fright at the realization that the captains had invaded his dream. Orihime looked up to see the four captains too and gasped with the same measure of horror. "HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN THERE?!"_

 _Each captain had a different expression from watching the Substitute and his dream version of Orihime fornicate. Toshiro, obviously due to his youth, was looking away with a face so red it was a wonder his skin didn't burn from the heat. To his credit, Byakuya did his best to maintain his stoic face, though the way he averted his gaze was telling enough. Unohana, on the other hand, had been watching them with an amused expression, her cheeks pink from seeing how deep Ichigo's love for Orihime went. Kenpachi had the biggest grin on his face, finding the whole situation to be hilarious._

 _"Oh come on, Ichigo!" Kenpachi whined. "You were about to get to the good part!"_

 _"I…you…" Ichigo choked. Looking down he realized that he was naked and looked around frantically for his clothes._

 _"Um…Ichigo?" Unohana noted, almost teasingly. "Don't you remember? You threw off your clothes and they blew away." She pointed to the shirt billowing in the wind off in the distance._

 _Looking back down at the equally mortified Orihime then back up at the captains, Ichigo knew that there was only one way out of this nightmare. Gritting his teeth, he did the only thing he could do in this situation._

 _He woke himself up by punching himself in the face._

Covered in cold sweat, the unfortunate Ichigo sat up in his bed, panting while he tried to understand what just happened. "What…the…FUCK?!" He punched his pillow in a rare display of rage. "First you enter my Inner World and now you're invading my dreams?!"

" _It's not our fault!"_ Toshiro insisted, the embarrassment present in his voice. " _We were all lying on one of your world's buildings trying to sleep when suddenly we were in the middle of a sunflower field! We don't know how we got there in the middle of your dream!"_

"How much of that did you see?" Ichigo demanded.

" _…I'm afraid we were there from the beginning,"_ Unohana told him.

Ichigo could only bury his face in the pillow and groan in shame. "Oh god…I can't believe you saw us…"

 _"If only you had that kind of confidence earlier,"_ Kenpachi teased. " _You wouldn't have to just dream about the girl."_

"Whyyyyyyyy…" Ichigo groaned. Bad enough that the four saw Ichigo's wet dream. But the fact that they saw him naked was too much.

 _"Ichigo,"_ came the voice of Byakuya. " _This might prove a problem. I do not enjoy being dragged into such an uncomfortable situation. Are you going to keep dreaming like a degenerate?"_

"Like I can help it!" Ichigo huffed, his face still buried in the pillow. "Is this going to happen every time I go to sleep?"

" _I'm afraid we won't really know until you go back to sleep,"_ Unohana replied.

All Ichigo could do was groan in despair. Now he couldn't even dream without the captains interfering? He looked up at the clock and gave another groan when he saw that dawn was still a long ways off.

This was going to be a long night with no sleep…

To be continued


End file.
